On May 5, 2020, a Magistrate Judge in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania issued a report and recommendation recommending that a defendant-employer’s motion for summary judgment dismissing a SOX whistleblower retaliation claim be granted, finding
Proskauer Whistleblower Defense
The Proskauer Whistleblower Defense blog, published by Proskauer Rose LLP, focuses on legal developments and case law related to whistleblower protections and retaliation claims. It covers topics such as statutory frameworks including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), Dodd-Frank Act, Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA), Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA), and the Federal Railroad Safety Act (FRSA). The blog discusses court rulings on procedural requirements, administrative prerequisites, burden-shifting frameworks, and enforcement challenges in whistleblower litigation. It also highlights significant settlements and strategic considerations for employers and employees involved in whistleblower disputes.
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Whistleblower Claims on the Horizon Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
In recent weeks, there have been numerous widely reported incidents of employees, particularly those in the health care industry, claiming that they have been retaliated against for reporting health and safety concerns related to COVID-19. Such complaints are indicative of…
SEC Awards Whistleblower More Than $27 Million
SDNY Dismisses Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Claim for Lack of Protected Activity and Causation
On February 28, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed a former chief marketing officer’s claim of whistleblower retaliation under the Dodd Frank Act. Cellucci v. O’Leary No. 19-cv-02752 (S.D.N.Y. 2020).
Background
Plaintiff is…
DOL Decision Confirms Extraterritorial Limits of SOX Whistleblower Provision
As we previously reported, the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Administrative Review Board has twice held that Sarbanes Oxley’s anti-retaliation provision does not apply extraterritorially. See Hu v. PTC, Inc., ARB Case No. 2017-0068 (Sept. 18, 2019); Perez v.
SDNY: Directors Not Liable For Whistleblower Claims Under SOX
On December 9, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that, as a matter of law, directors cannot be held liable under the anti-retaliation provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Zornoza v. Terraform Global…
CFTC Releases FY 2019 Annual Report
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) recently released its statutorily mandated 2019 Annual Report covering the fiscal year ending on September 30, 2019. The report, prepared by the CFTC’s Whistleblower Office (“WBO”), outlines the tips received and awards granted during…
NLRB Permits Confidentiality Restrictions During Internal Investigations
As reported in Proskauer’s Labor Relations Update blog, the NLRB issued an important opinion on December 17, 2019 relating to employer rules requiring confidentiality from employees during workplace investigations. Apogee Retail LLC d/b/a Unique Thrift Store, 368 NLRB No. 144…
ARB: “Hinting” at Filing a Whistleblower Complaint is Not Protected Activity
On October 31, 2019, the ARB held that an employee who merely “hints” that he or she intends to file a whistleblower complaint has not engaged in protected activity sufficient to invoke the whistleblower protection provision in SOX. Hoptman v.
SEC Releases FY 2019 Whistleblower Program Annual Report
On November 15, 2019, the SEC published its annual report to Congress covering the agency’s whistleblower program.
The report, which covers the period of October 1, 2018 through September 30, 2019, was prepared by the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower…